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sentientgolfball · 2 months ago

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Ghoul Files: Cirrus

Welcome to my little series of ghoul character sheets. The Files are basically little living documents of how I headcanon/characterize each ghoul. I've made one for every ghoul (yes every ghoul) and I'll be slowly uploading them alphabetically by era just for the hell of it.

Masterpost

Check out her design here !

Name: Cirrus

Element: Air

Pronouns: she/her

Powers: Can create gusts of wind, summon small storms, manipulate air pressure, create vacuums by pulling air out of places (yes this includes living creatures), use airflow to lift small objects, she can’t fly but if she jumps off a high place she can float down.

Love language (giving): Gift giving. She has crow brain. She sees a cool rock or a neat piece of metal and she’s grabbing it and affectionately handing it to one of her packmates.

Love language (receiving): Words of affirmation and acts of service. She’s so soft when someone says sweet little things to her and takes time out of their day to do something for her.

Pairings: She’s the closest with Cumulus. If they’re not with the pack, it is rare to see one without the other. She also likes to hang out with Mountain. She likes the way he keeps her grounded. Aether is her other go to ghoul. Sometimes she doesn’t want to be the one in charge, the one responsible, and he’s always more than willing to hold her for a while.

Influential Others: Zephyr means the world to her. They were her mentor when she was still new. Even in the present, she still goes to Zephyr when she’s really struggling. She still feels like she can’t fill their shoes, but they’re her number one fan.

Kinds of People Liked: She likes honest people in all degrees. People who tell the truth, but also people who are upfront with what they want or need. She doesn’t want to play guessing games. Also sickeningly sweet people. She finds their natural affection so endearing.

Kinds of People Disliked: People who seem to have a stick permanently up their ass. She gets very annoyed very quickly with people who can’t allow themselves to relax or take it easy. She sees red when people like that crank it up a notch and shame others for finding joy in small or strange ways.

Time in the Pits: She was the leader of her flock in the Pits. Cumulus was her mate, they’ve been bound together for centuries. She kept them safe, kept them alive. It wasn’t a gigantic flock, but it wasn’t small either. She has plenty of scars from challenges to her position, but she never lost a fight. She truly believed she was the best thing for her flock, that no one could do it like her. She was fair with punishments, tried to keep hunting and scouting equal between all members. She wasn't horribly ambitious, not willing to throw her flock into senseless fights just for more territory. However, she was fierce when she needed to be. Her greatest accomplishment was killing a quintessence ghoul that tried to use her flock for food.

Sense of Humor: Physical/slapstick. She has to stifle a laugh when she sees people fall down the stairs or accidentally run into something. She’ll ask if you’re okay and genuinely mean it, but the moment she knows everything is fine and no one’s actually hurt she’s gonna need a minute.

Basic Nature: She cares and will be there for those she’s close with even if she’s not great with her words, but she’s also not afraid to snap and be blunt if she needs to be. She can be really physically affectionate and a little sentimental and it sometimes makes people forget she’s a natural leader. When she speaks you listen.

Compulsions/Habits: She has to have a nest of blankets in order to fall asleep. She will meticulously create a nest if she’s not sleeping in her own room for the night before she turns in. She also tends to bite when she’s grooming one of her packmates, she’s used to preening feathers it’s not her fault. She self isolates whenever she has a migraine. She’ll only call on someone when it gets bad enough for her to begrudgingly take painkillers.

Fears: Tight spaces. She’s very claustrophobic. She also has a fear of failure. Failure in the Pits meant someone getting hurt or worse. While obviously that’s not the case Topside it’s something she can’t shake.

Attitude Towards Own Body: She’s content with no strong opinions. However, when she dresses up she likes to flaunt cause she knows she looks good.

Sees Self As: Strong enough to shoulder everything thrown at her.

Hobbies: Exercising! She likes to lift and do cardio. She also does yoga with Mountain. Falconry. She’s made great friends with the falcons that reside on the Ministry rooftops. She’s trained them to act as her eyes for the places she can’t always see. She loves them to death.

Pastimes: She likes to do word puzzles. She also lets Cumulus and Aurora essentially play dress up with her. She likes it when they do her makeup and hair cause she is not the type to do it herself.

Collections: Bones. She has so many bones and no one knows where she keeps getting more.

Reading Materials Preferred: She enjoys reading books about mythology. The stories that have survived through all of human history fascinate her.

Most Prized Possession: Her keytar. It was given to her by Zephyr. It was the thing that essentially brought her Topside. It’s what keeps her close to all the ghouls. Since Zephyr can’t play it anymore because of their condition she sees it as letting a part of them still make music.

Favorite Colors: gold

Favorite Foods: She likes foods that aren’t super heavy but still have plenty of flavor. Her favorite thing to eat are those little tortilla pinwheel roll ups. She likes how she can swap out ingredients for variety while still having it be simple and easy to make.

General Likes: making collages, picnics, fireflies, sitting outside during storms

General Dislikes: Getting her feathers soaked, cold weather, having her quiet time disturbed, carpeted floors

Is Seen By Others As: An affectionate person with a big heart but also a little intimidating.

Typical First Impression: Lioness. She’s going to eat me whole and leave nothing behind. Those scars tell a story and it can’t be a good one.

Morning Routine: She eats breakfast with the pack before going to relieve the ghoul who was on night watch. Her job allows her to go all over the Ministry, so she makes it a point to visit each packmate throughout the day.

Evening Routine: She always walks back to the den with Mountain since he’s always working late in the greenhouse. She showers before cuddling up with the other ghoulettes in the common area while they wait for dinner to be finished. She works on whatever sudoku or word puzzle book she currently has as a way to wind down before bed. That or she decides to go see who’s willing to take a strap for a few hours. It’s important to relieve stress before going to sleep.

Strongest Character Trait: Her patience. She may snap here or there to keep everyone on track, but it takes a lot for her to get there. She prefers a softer approach and usually, that works, so that’s why it’s terrifying when she has to remind whoever why she was a pack leader in the Pits for so long.

Weakest Character Trait: She’s a perfectionist for herself. She holds herself to impossibly high standards and gets frustrated when she doesn’t meet them. It’s actually something she and Dew have in common, but unlike him, she doesn’t freeze and go cold when it happens. She explodes. She’s less affectionate and energetic. She has to take a moment to herself to settle, she won’t even let Cumulus see her like that. She cries until her throat is raw. Once she’s calmed down, though, she finds her and buries herself in her.

Mental/Emotional Blocks: Ghouls by themselves are matriarchal. In the Pits it’s the ghoulettes who are in charge of packs/flocks/schools/hordes. However when the silly humans of the Ministry got involved they decided that fire ghouls are the ‘leaders’ since they hold the same element as the Morning Star. This is purely for bureaucracy and means nothing outside of ghoul/clergy meetings. Cirrus didn’t like this. When she was first summoned her and Dew would butt heads a lot. Sometimes she still gets pissy when he has to go to Clergy meetings and she can’t do anything except remind him of the things the ghouls need. She freaks out. It’s not that she doesn’t trust him to mention everything he needs to do, but it just stresses her out because she’s not directly involved.

Chores/other job: When not on tour, she patrols the grounds of the Ministry. She perches on the bell towers and watches. She connects to the air to feel for any disturbances. She sends her falcons out. If she finds any trespassers she hunts them down and brings them before Papa so he can decide what to do with them.

Long Term Goals: She and Ifrit actually share a plan to convince Papa to get permission from the Clergy to allow them to start up small self-defense classes. When she began getting to know the humans of the Ministry after she was summoned she learned many of them come from horrible situations. She showed a few of her favorites how to get someone on the floor. When Ifrit found out the two started to hatch the plan together.

Present Problems: She is a bit stressed about the growth of the church. Not because she doesn’t enjoy the new people and ghouls, but because she may be asked to leave on an assistance trip like Sunshine. Would she come back when the new branch was established? Yes, but the idea of not being surrounded by other ghouls all the time freaks her out. That and she’d worry too much about what was happening back at home.

One-Line Characterization: Cirrus is a natural leader who helps keep the pack organized.

Room description: She has a queen-sized bed, but it’s only ever used when she has company. She has a nest of pillows, blankets, and soft things in the corner of her room where she sleeps. It’s pretty clean, but the floor is littered with her and Cumulus’ feathers. She has no light in her room beside the windows, she doesn’t feel the need since ghouls have good dark vision. She has a small TV in her room for nights when she’d rather stay in. She has a potted gladiolus on her desk.

Summoning: She spilled a lot of blood when she was summoned. She came out of the circle swinging and screaming. Omega had to hold her down until she gave up trying to attack. She was convinced they were going to kill her. She calmed down significantly when Zephyr showed up. Seeing another air ghoul made her realize she wasn’t going to die, but she was now terrified for her pack back in the Pits. It took her a while to warm up to the other ghouls, so she stayed glued to Cumulus and Zephyr for months. She was scared. She had attacked and been attacked by ghouls of all elements in the Pits. Her curiosity about humans did, however, break her out of her shell and led to her getting to know her new packmates.

NSFW

Favorite position: She likes her partners bent over for her. Also under her, but honestly she just kinda lets the situation unfold before deciding what she’s in the mood for.

Dom/sub: Dom. She’s a bit of a pleasure dom, definitely going to wring multiple orgasms from her partner. She will get her partner to whimper. She is pretty damn close to being a stone top, but she has her moments where she’d rather receive.

Risk: She kind of likes to push boundaries. Obviously she’ll stop if told, but she likes to see how far she can get. She’ll draw blood. She’ll corner someone behind some crates with crew members only 5 feet away. She’ll leave her door unlocked, maybe cracked open if she’s really feeling it.

Kinks: Power play. She goes crazy for having her partner beg and having total control over them. Marking, she is going to cover her partner. Orgasm denial and edging, but this kinda pairs with the power play. Temperature play. Loves to see how her element can be used.

Aftercare: Very intimate. She’s going to praise her partner while she gives them soft kisses. Going to dress them in her clothes if they’ll fit, if not she’s going to wrap them in her biggest, softest blanket and lay on top of them. If they wanna shower she’ll use her shampoo and body wash so they smell like her.

Noise level: She’s decently loud, a good mix of talking and noises. However, she is going to make sure her partner can be heard down the hall.

Surprise: She very much enjoys it when her partner challenges her. If you want her to be mean and manhandle you then all you have to do is challenge her control. She likes fighting (and winning) that control. She doesn’t mind when her partner gives in right away, but oh boy, if you want to really get her going challenge her.

#the band ghost #ghost bc #nameless ghouls #ghoul headcanons #ghoul files #cirrus ghoulette #golfball writes

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vampireantihero · 2 years ago

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The 2023 Great Fridge Debacle (Newsletter)

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. I’m back with a bit of a story, some plans, and the weekly schedule as promised. As you can tell from the title, the upcoming story involves refrigerators. I’ll get to that in a moment. First, let’s talk about this weeks’ plan.

Here’s this week’s daily schedule:

As you can see, this is a lighter week. I’m really putting my pedal to the metal and trying to make progress on the mood and composition class despite big mental distractions and busy-ness that keeps getting in the way. So, the Twitch streams say we’re going to be working on the mood and composition pieces, but I’m hoping to be further along than what these topics suggest. What I’m planning for is that I’ll be past that point before the Twitch stream is scheduled. However if I’m not past that creative mark by the time the Twitch stream is supposed to go live, then we’ll be working on that thing during the Twitch stream. I’ve been working rather slow the last month or so because of 1) taking the time to do studies in the mid-afternoon in order to improve my skills and 2) fighting a pretty intensive art block from all of the personal stuff happening. You know I’ve been open and honest with you all, and I’ll continue to do the best I can with the energy and resources I have.

Next week, I’ll go back to planning new merch and getting stuff up into the Redbubble store and the website store. I’m once again thinking about whether or not to source limited run prints of some of my art, but I’ll talk more about that once we get to that point. For this week, I want to get the class to you all. My goal is to have it finished by the end of the week, but I don’t want to write a long message apologizing if I don’t hit that goal, so we’re planning a different, easier video for the end of this week. I’m hoping to start uploading Youtube videos at least once a week for you all, so this is my push towards that goal. If I wind up not getting the video done, then I know that’s too ambitious and I’ll stay at bi-weekly uploads. I’m trying to find a balance, still.

The 2023 Great Fridge Debacle

In other news, let me paint you a picture depicting a harrowing tale of overwhelm, unplanned purchases, and luck amidst insane misfortune.

Alright, so maybe not that dramatic, but it was definitely a stressful situation that I don’t ever want to repeat again. As I mentioned last week, my theatre troupe is back in full swing, and we’ve been having rehearsals. That means I work from about 9am to 5:45-ish, eat, and then we’re at rehearsal by 6:30pm and usually there until around 9:30pm. So on Wednesday, we get home from our rehearsal and I decided I wanted some ice cream. I go to pick up the carton, and the bottom is just… Liquid. Straight defrosted ice cream. Cue the panic. We go into the fridge and try to adjust the temperature. Our fridge is only about 15 degrees below room temperature. So, we made a snap decision. I bought the cheapest fridge that fit our needs that could come in the shortest time window.

Luckily, Lowe’s was having a sale that happened to be ending at 2am the next morning. Luckily, they offer haul away service. Luckily, we live in Wisconsin, so it’s cold outside— it was about 20 degrees that day. Also luckily, my husband can be forgetful over certain things, and we had some frozen jugs outside full of water from the summer months when he typically gardens. So, we grabbed some of the jugs, wiped them down, and put them in the fridge/freezer. And get this — it actually worked. None of our food spoiled. It was interesting watching the techs bring the new fridge in and take the old fridge away, because they had to take the doors off to get it inside. I’ll have it sitting on my credit card for a while. Where our fridge lives in our kitchen makes it so that one door won’t fully open. But that’s all okay— we have a working fridge.

Ultimately, it’s only March and I’ve had enough excitement in a negative way to last me the next five years, but I’m hoping that the rest of the year has this weird string of luck for us. I don’t know what the cards hold for the future, but it’s alright. This week, I’ll leave you with this — no matter what the universe throws at you, if you handle it with grace and stride, and lean on your support systems, things will be okay.

Take care of yourselves. Drink your water. Do what you can. I love you all.

(Just a reminder that if you want this blog post directly to your mailbox, you can sign up for my newsletter here.)

#newsletter #my stuff #art blog #schedule #weekly schedule

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nickywhoisi · 2 years ago

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TIME TO UPLOAD MORE THINGS~~~~~~~~ because I’ve been on a roll with posting my drawings lately

I was practicing with the Tender Trio during my long break, and it was real good. For a long while before I even went on that break, I was enamoured by a user’s art for a TTTE/Land of the Lustrous crossover and thought it was a really good idea! In fact, it’s been so good at getting my creative juices flowing that I kinda want to keep going with it. I’ve fallen in love with this concept hard, and there’s just no stopping now. So while I go through my likes, I’m going to upload what I have been making so far for my new Thomas au, to empty out everything before I pack off for a different social media thing. Apologies, but for as much as things have picked up, other things from here have hurt me one too many times and I’m not forgetting what kind of damage that wrought to my overall health, so...it’s safer for me to head somewhere else. I have a couple of places in mind that shouldn’t be too hard for you guys to visit though. Will keep posted for the links. (UPDATE: Deviantart the good ol boi, and possibly Gaiaonline and a general free image hosting site buT WITH COMMENTS :D I might also consider FF.net or AO3 too!)

But for now, I am SUPER HAPPY with how my boys turned out! So fine. I said I’d get James’ nose right, didn’t I? And Rosie too, I’m so happy to draw one of the girls! BUT OH NO...I didn’t colour in her other glove. Ugh well I might edit this post later for the fix, but I just want to get the commentary out of the way. Some parts of the poses on the main four I wish turned out better, but the basic form is there and I got the mood I wanted in it. AND THE HAIR. I AM SO GLAD THE HAIR TURNED OUT RIGHT. IT WAS TOUGH BUT IT TURNED OUT THE RIGHT WAY. I REALLY LOVE DOING HAIR LIKE THIS AAHHHHHHH

it can go so wrong sometimes with ink, it’s very hard to do without the right control. so the fact that the gloss turned out even a little in the direction I wanted is a total victory for me! Maybe I might try to make Henry’s hair a little deeper green, as there’s a plot reason for that.

And I am really sorry if anyone was expecting me to go further with my canon renditions, but I think I just got too ambitious with the costume designs! They got elaborate and I’ve always enjoyed being meticulous with details and accuracy, which I liked...but then it got hard to manage and recreate for other pieces, so it was kind of like I shot myself in the foot but was too happy about it to notice the wound. Whoops. Drawin trains is harddddd

I will finish up those pieces so they’re not going to be left incomplete, and I did get Duck and Diesel underway(!), so those pieces will be made sometime soon too. Moving forward, there’s just gonna be a lot of train gems in black suits, but I’ve still planned unique designs for them all anyway. It won’t look too samey. It is going to be really fun! I have writing too! It almost feels like I’m making railway series stories, but with HnK it is wild

Gordon and James are just...*chef’s kiss* I have so many ideas for these two and they are looking so hawtie rn, they definitely came out as the best gem renditions so far. I’m so proud of myself for designing the leg pattern on James, that’s another plot related thing but it’s so on brand for him! In this au, their names (from left to right in the front) are BlueDiamond - mohs 10, Red Zircon - mohs 9.5 (and if you notice, the black I added for his hair is supposed to be Painite, which is why he’s not at a 10), Verdelite - mohs 7.5 (but he’s going to be fixed up with another type that bumps his mohs up BUT I CAN’T SAY YET rhrhhhh), PinkTourmaline - mohs 7. Now who’s in the back? There’s a couple you might be able to guess, but the other one won’t be familiar. Who’s who?

well I just want to save the surprises for later. Expect more to come soon!

#oh boy another long post #and some fancy new art #or at least only a few months old art #I wish I could remember the name of the person who first made Thomas and friends as gems that would be more helpful #ttte #houseki no kuni #zomg my art!#get ready for very beautiful humanized trains everyone

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cutie1365 · 4 years ago

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A Kid from Queens Part 21

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Info: CA: Civil War Era. Tony Stark enlists his daughter to find the web slinging spider in Queens.

Word count: 5.4k

Warnings: 18+ content, smut, language. (I had aged up Peter so he’s 18.)

A/N: Flashbacks in italics as usual :) I know it’s been forever, motivation is hard to come by these days. This is the longest thing I’ve ever written, it’s long enough to break into two chapters but I know I haven’t uploaded in a while so Merry Christmas lol.

Any and all feedback is much appreciated! Please please if you could just leave a little message of things you like or what you want to see in the future it really helps.

Masterlist linked in my bio. Taglist in the reblog.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Y/N! Y/N! Over here!” You heard your name called as Happy opens the limo door. He extends his hand to help you to your feet.

“Stark, look over here!” The paparazzi screams were almost deafening as Peter exited the car after you. His mask hid more of his features while yours left little to the imagination, they knew who you were already, so no point in trying to hide it.

“Behave.” Happy pointed a stern finger at you.

“Don’t I always.” You feigned offense as your hand clapped over your heart, he raised a brow as your mouth turned up into a smirk.

“Goodnight Happy.” You chuckled, turning and stepping onto the red carpet leading to the venue.

“Who are you wearing?” You heard different questions screamed in your direction. This was a charity gala after all, not the fucking Oscars. Who cares who made your dress?

You slipped your hand into Peters, trying to calm him. This had to be overwhelming, all the cameras in your face, screaming anything they can to get you to look their way.

“Dr. Stark!” One voice called, gaining your attention. Few people addressed you with your appropriate title. You turned to see a young woman, who didn’t look like she’s been on the job for very long. She was holding her own though, against all these ruthless reporters. You thought you saw The Bugle among them.

“Dr. Stark, Glory Grant from the Times.” She smiled once you looked her way. You took a step closer to her, nodding at her to let her know you were listening and she could continue, “Can you tell us why this cause is important to you?”

“Of course, every child’s life we can save is like an investment into our and their future. They’re going to be the ones to take over the world someday. Who knows who will be the next Einstein, or Madam Curie...” You began with a smile.

“Or Y/N Stark,” She smiled. You laughed, shaking your head humbly.

“If we can do our part in donating and relieving some of the financial burdens off of their parents then it’s worth it. This organization not only helps families and children currently fighting cancer, but it helps look for a cure. A permanent solution to help end this disease.” You spoke from your heart.

“Thank you so much Dr. Stark.” She smiled as she scribbled the last of your words onto her notepad.

“Are you new at the Times Ms. Grant?” You asked, taking another step closer to her and the barrier between the two of you.

“Yeah, I just started.” She smiled nervously.

“Can I borrow your pen?” You asked, and she handed you her pen and pad.

“That’s my work number. If you’d like to be added to the Stark Industries press board, give me a call. They’re the first ones we call about press releases and announcements.” You spoke as you scribbled it down, handing it back to her with a smile.

“Thank you so much Dr. Stark, but why are you helping me?” She furrowed her brows.

“Because it's a man's world, and we can help change that, one woman at a time,” You said, causing her to laugh, “You’re the only one here to actually address me by my title and not ask me about my outfit. I see a bright career ahead of you.” You nodded to her as you took a step back towards the middle of the carpet.

“Enjoy tonight,” she smiled, beaming at the new opportunity. You winked at her as you took Peter’s hand and led him along the carpet and up the stairs towards the venue.

“That was nice of you,” He squeezed your hand.

“I mean it’s effortless for me, but it will help kick start her career. I got this kinda third eye about people.” You smirked.

“That’s not a real thing.” He shook his head with a laugh.

“Sure it is. It’s not always perfect, but sometimes I can just tell when people are destined for something great. Like you, from the moment I met you I knew.” You turned towards him, taking his other hand in yours.

“You knew what?” He titled his head in confusion.

You leaned in to press a chaste kiss to his lips, forgetting you were at the top of the stairs and still in full sight of all the photographers. You saw the flashes but you didn’t care. Peter’s identity was safe with his mask, and you wanted the whole work to know how happy he made you.

“That you’re a good person, and you’re gonna do big things.” You beamed up at him as you pulled away from the kiss, turning to lead him inside.

“So what else can this third eye tell you?” He asked curiously.

“It’s kinda like a gut feeling, to trust someone or not trust them. Like fight or flight, something’s not right kinda feeling. I just trust my gut, ya know.” You shrugged.

“I think I know exactly what you mean.” He said, and you turned to him with a raised brow before remembering your conversation from a week ago.

“Oh that’s right, like your spidey senses.” You chuckled, making sure to keep your voice low.

“My what?” His eyes went wide.

“You said you can sense when something bad's gonna happen. Although mine isn’t as specific and can’t be attributed to a radioactive spider.” You chuckled, walking to a secluded corner of the ballroom.

“Shh someone could hear you.” He whispered, you smiled, shaking your head, knowing everyone’s always drunk at these sorts of things.

Turning to face Peter, you raised your hands to straighten his bow tie. Your mind wandered to how great he looked in his suit. The feeling of butterflies swirling in your belly from the moment you saw him step through your door a few hours ago had barely worn off.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Wow,” you both muttered as your eyes landed on each other. You’d never seen him all dressed up like this. He looked good, really good. You gulped, trying to push the dirty thoughts from your mind.

His hair was slicked back, not the mess of curls you were used to. He looked so grown up. You could almost picture him commanding a Stark Industries board meeting or standing at the end of an isle. Wait- slow down Y/N, jesus.

He looked so natural, so dapper, and then he turns and gives you that signature goofy smile- there he is. It brought a smile to your face. How did you get so lucky? How could you have landed a guy as great and handsome as Peter Parker. Were the girls at his school brain dead? You would think everyone would want him. Kind, sweet, intelligent, respectful, and Christ he cleans up well. He was everything you’d ever dreamed of.

Have you just been staring this whole time? Jesus, Y/N say something, he’ll think you’re crazy, you thought.

“Are you ready to go?” You asked, trying to compose yourself. He only nodded, still not able to formulate words.

You were wearing red. His red. No- not his red obviously, but the same color of his suit. And god he loved it. He felt like you were wearing a piece of him. Like he had marked you, you were his.

“You look...” He trailed off, his eyes still wide. He cleared his throat and smiled, trying to compose himself. You could almost hear his internal monologue urging him on - Come on Peter, keep it together..., “You look... God Y/N. You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” You blushed. Of course that wasn’t the first time someone had told you that, but coming from Peter it felt different, “You look so handsome. Not your usual kind of suit, huh?” You smirked, causing him to chuckle as he pulled on his sleeves.

“I have your mask.” You smiled, still admiring him, holding the mask out to him.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Why doesn’t your mask hide your identity?” Peter asked, as the two of you watched more and more people file into the ballroom.

“Because people will know who I am anyway, and I’m not hiding.” You explained.

“How will they know?” He furrowed his brows, you shook your wrist in response.

“I don’t know anyone else with a custom blaster built into a bracelet. I’m also on the younger side, and pulled up in a ride with Stark Industries plates, so it wouldn’t take a genius.” You smiled, starting to recognize a few faces of regulars as you people watched.

“Do you always wear that thing?” He asked, holding up your wrist and examining it.

“No, I’ve got a watch for day to day wear that does the same thing. Dad may not give me a suit, but he won’t leave me completely defenseless. And it has come in handy.” You trailed off, remembering the not so fond memories of the last time you used it. Your ribs still ached if you thought about it long enough.

“Let’s hope you don’t have to use it tonight.” Peter said, craving one normal night without having to be a hero.

“Someone would have to be very ambitious to attack this place, they’ve got security out the wazoo.” You brushed off, praying tonight would go well.

A hush fell over the crowd as the charity president walked onto the stage and welcomed everyone. You felt Peter’s hand slip around your waist protectively as everyone pushed a little closer to the stage to hear. This part was pretty standard, basically a little speech to kick off the night, a thank you for coming, and who to make all checks out to. Music filled the ballroom as the band began playing after the applause for the speaker died down.

“I’ll get us something to drink.” Peter nodded off towards the open bar.

You nod as he walks off and turn to admire the ballroom. Your eyes soon land on a familiar face.

“Dr. Strange,” You smile, greeting him.

“Dr. Stark,” He nods. You’d met a few times at these sorts of events. You hadn’t seen him for a while though, and there were rumors of an accident.

“How are you Stephen? I haven’t seen you since...” You paused to trying and remember, “Was it that benefit for the hospital a year ago?”

“Had to be, I’ve been... traveling.” He stated ominously. You glanced down to see the long thin scars along his fingers.

“Well it’s nice to have you back.” You smiled.

Peter now rejoined you at your side, slipping a drink into your hands- non-alcoholic of course, per May’s request. His other hand found its way to the small of your back.

“Peter, this is Dr. Stephen Strange.” You introduced him.

“Peter Parker,” He smiled, shaking the doctor’s hand. Something you couldn’t describe flashed over Peter’s eyes as they shook hands. Like a gut feeling he couldn’t quite place. For some reason his spidey senses were going off.

“Enjoy your evening, I need to check in at work.” Strange gave a curt nod and smile as he said his goodbyes. As he walked past you he dropped his voice to a whisper and spoke into your ear, “I like this one much better than the last.”

“Me too,” You whispered back with a smirk.

“So... how do you know him?” Peter asked curiously as the doctor excused himself to call the hospital.

“We run in the same circles, it’s a lot of the same people that come to these sorts of things. His hospital donates a lot of money to these causes and when he pisses off the board they send him to represent them as punishment.” You explained.

“This is a punishment?” Peter asked, dumbfounded.

“For a neurosurgeon it might just be,” You laughed, shaking your head, “I’m surprised he’s here.”

“Why?” He furrowed his brows.

“I heard he was in an accident not too far back. A bad one. I didn’t know he had gone back to work. Hmm...” You looked off to where the man had disappeared to.

“Care to dance, Parker?” You changed the subject, taking his hand into yours and placing your drinks onto the nearest table.

As the song changed to I Only Have Eyes For You by The Flamingos, he held you in his arms, swaying slowly. You were lost in him, hours could have passed, or seconds. As your bodies were pressed together you felt a sensation you could only describe as home.

“So has it been everything you dreamed it would be? These stuffy formalities for rich people to get drunk and spend money.” You chuckled as you looked up at him.

“It’s beautiful, but I guess, I mean it seems so glamorous from the outside.” He shook his head.

“Sorry to burst the bubble for you. It’s a little less Gatsby, and a little more, middle aged businessman doing coke in the bathroom.” You quipped.

Peter’s head immediately whipped towards the bathroom door where two men were emerging, one rubbing his nose.

“No way...” He looked back to you with wide eyes.

“You’d be surprised.” You chuckled.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

After a little more dancing and mingling you and Peter made your way out onto the deserted balcony.

“Are you cold?” He asked, as he leaned onto the railing next to you. You were hiding it well but he still sensed it.

“A little.” You chuckled, cursing those spidey senses for giving you away.

Peter slipped off his coat and placed it over your shoulders. You thanked him as you turned to admire the moonlit lake below you. It was so quiet and peaceful, untouched by the party going on just on the other side of the glass doors.

“Did you have a good day?” Peter asked.

“Perfect.” You looked up to him and smiled, and you meant it.

“Um, so, Happy told me that you don’t like to celebrate your birthday but,” Peter began to speak, nervously. Your eyes grew wide, how in the world did he know it was your birthday? That was the one day you liked to keep private and out of the press. Only the Avengers, Pepper and Happy knew when it was. “I wanted to give you this. Everyone deserves at least one present on their birthday.”

“Peter you didn’t-” You shook your head, before he cut you off.

“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. And don’t worry, Mr. Stark swore me to secrecy so I won’t go announcing it to the world.” He reassured you as he reached into his pocket to pull out a little box.

“I know it’s not much, and I’m sure you have a million other fancy things, but I wanted you to have this.” Peter opened the box nervously, revealing a necklace. It was a single pearl and diamond dangling from a silver chain. Simple, but beautiful. “It was my mothers. Aunt May said that my dad gave it to her on their wedding day.”

Your jaw dropped slightly and your hand went over your heart.

“Peter, I-” How could you accept this? It was probably one of the last bits he had of his mother and he was just giving it away? You knew how much they meant to him, and he’d been through so much. With losing both parents so young and then his Uncle Ben not that long ago. Tears began to pool up in your eyes. Did he really care about you that much to part with something this important?

“Are you sure?” You asked softly.

“Of course I am. She would have loved you. She would have wanted you to have it.” Peter spoke, slipping the necklace on you as a single tear slipped down your cheek.

You turned back to him with a smile, he gently rubbed his thumb across your cheek to wipe the tear away. He didn’t know what to say- actually that’s a lie. He knew exactly what three words he wanted to say, but he thought it might be too soon and he might scare you. He absolutely didn’t want that. So he just smiled at you as you leaned in to kiss him.

You pulled away and wiped your tears, trying your best not to mess up your makeup.

“Thank you Peter.” You sniffled, chuckling at how silly you were being.

“Happy birthday.” He beamed as you heard the band strike up a slow song inside. He extended his hand to you, “Y/N Stark, can I have this dance?”

There was that goofy smile again, causing you to giggle as you placed your hand in his. He pulled you close, you rest your head on his shoulder as you both sway to the music. And for once in your life, everything was perfect.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

After everyone had said their goodbyes and they ushered you out of the venue, you and Peter began your short walk through the park to the Plaza Hotel across the street.

“Tonight was like a dream,” You said, as you swung your intertwined hands slightly.

“Haven’t you been to a million of these things.” Peter chuckled and shook his head.

“Yes, but I’ve never been to one with someone I love and it’s a very different experience I’ve learned.” You spoke, causing Peter to stop.

You turned to face him as you noticed his wide eyes, not believing the words that just came out of your mouth. It took him a minute to process. One, that meant you loved him. And two, that meant you were never in love with Thomas, since you’d been to these events with him before.

“Ok, you’re kinda scaring me now Peter,” You laughed nervously at his awestruck state.

“You love me?” He asked, and you answered with a nod and a smile.

He placed his hands on either side of your face and pulled you into a sweeping kiss.

“Am I dreaming?” Peter asks, pulling away, looking for any sign on your face that this was all some sort of joke.

“I sure hope not,” You chuckle.

“I love you too,” Peter beams at you, pulling you into another kiss.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Woah...” You and Peter both mutter as you push open the door to your hotel room. Now this was fancy. You felt like you were in a room in Buckingham Palace.

You both walked around, inspecting the room as you dropped your coats. You saw your bags in the corner that had already been brought up. You ran your hand over one of the pillows on the huge California King sized bed as your lips morphed into a smirk and an idea popped into your head. You clutched onto the pillow with one of your perfectly manicured hands as you spun around, whacking Peter with it.

“Hey!” He yelped, eyes growing wide at what you’d just done.

“Come on Parker, let’s see what you’ve got.” You tossed him another pillow from the bed with a smirk.

“O you’re gonna regret this,” He stalked towards you. You kicked off your heels and jumped onto the bed, standing up on your knees.

He swung his pillow as you ducked, it just missed you. You took the opportunity to whack him again. He looked at you with wide eyes, thinking, How had he missed?

“What? Couldn’t see that coming, bug boy?” You laughed. Taking those few seconds to gloat had proved fatal as you felt his pillow attack your side.

“Oof,” You feigned pain as you dropped backwards until your back hit the bed.

“Are you ok?” Peter asked, worried, thinking he’d really hurt you. With his super strength he was never sure.

You waited until he was kneeling next to you to jump into action, according to your plan. You jumped up, pushing him back onto the bed as you straddle him, grabbing your pillow and smacking him a few times.

“Ok, ok, you win!” Peter cried out, forfeiting.

“Yes!” You threw your pillow up in the air in victory. Peter looked up at you, still on top of him with your hair now a mess, hanging all around your face. He cherished the genuine smile on your face. All he wanted to do was kiss you, you looked so happy.

You crawled off of him and back onto the floor where you extended your hand to help him up. As he placed his hand into yours and rose to his feet, you didn’t notice his left hand reach for the pillow. Before you knew it, there was a pillow lightly thrown in your face.

“Peter!” You squealed through laughter. He knew you were about to retaliate when you reached for your own pillow on the bed. But he was faster, wrapping his arms around your waist and lifting you away.

“Come on, truce?” He asked as you struggled against his arms.

“Fine, truce.” You said, shaking his extended hand as he let you go.

“Hungry?” You asked, reaching for the room service menu on the desk and flipping through it.

“Starving.” He said, reading it over your shoulder.

After you had called in the food, you walked over to explore the rest of the room.

“They said it will be about an hour.” You told Peter, as you pushed open the door to the bathroom.

“So what do we do til then?” He asked, but you didn’t hear him.

“Jesus, look at the size of that tub.” You exclaimed, and Peter came over to your side to get a look at it too.

“Wow,” He said when his eyes landed on the giant clawfoot tub, “Um we definitely have to use that.”

You turned to face him with a smile.

“Really? You’d wanna do that?” You asked, who knew Peter Parker was a sucker for bubble baths.

“Absolutely. And do they have those big fluffy robes like in the movies?” He asked, excitedly, like a kid on Christmas.

You walked over to the closet and pulled the doors open, revealing two robes as described. You pulled them out and presented them to him.

“Cool...” His eyes lit up as he felt the material between his fingers.

You started to run the water, adding bath salts and bubbles, knowing it would take a while to fill the whole thing. Your things had already been brought to the room before you got there, so you got to work taking off your makeup and letting your now messy hair down.

You tried to reach for your zipper, as your body cried to be released from this skin tight dress.

“Hey Pete,” You called, and he strolled in the bathroom, now only wearing his dress pants and no shirt... and the butterflies were back. God how could he look that good, you stared shamelessly.

“You called?” He smirked, breaking your train of thought.

“Oh um, can you help me with my zipper?” You blushed, knowing you’d been caught.

“Mhm, turn around.” He instructed, before his fingers found the metal pull tab and he slowly worked it down, revealing more and more skin.

“There you go.” He smiled, placing a kiss on your shoulder, his gentle action nearly making you swoon. “I think the water’s ready if you want me to turn off the tap.”

“Yeah, yeah go ahead.” You nodded. You watched him turn off the spout and slip off his dress pants until he was just in his boxers. He folded them and set them aside before looking up to you. You were still holding your dress against your chest to keep it up, as the back gaped open and the thin straps slipped down your arms.

“Do you need help with that?” Peter asked, pointing to your dress, thinking you might need help taking it off. You thought you could manage, but on second thought you might need help. It was a tight dress and your stylist had helped you into it. You only nodded in response as Peter moved behind you. He gently helped you slip your arms through the straps and pulled the fabric down your body. He gave the fabric a quick tug as it struggled to get past your hips. You were now exposed in front of him. The dress was too tight for you to wear any sort of undergarments. He took you in for a moment before shifting his attention respectfully to the red indentations down your side from where the seams of the dress dug into you.

“Does this hurt?” He asked, gently rubbing his fingers down them.

“Not really,” You shook your head. He reached out his hand to help you into the tub without slipping.

You sank into the warm water as Peter dropped his boxers and joined you. Your eyes went wide at the size of him, and you looked away, a blush slowly crept onto your cheeks.

He must have noticed because the next thing you knew, a splash of water was hitting your face. You looked back to him in shock, he was sitting back laughing. You flicked your hand through the water, splashing him back.

You moved to do it again, but he grabbed your wrist, stopping you. You knew it was a good idea, if the two of you started going at it again like in the pillow fight, it would lead to a mess and an expensive clean up bill.

“Do they always book rooms this fancy for the galas?” Peter asked, taking in the room once more.

“I don’t know, this was the first time I’ve accepted it.” You shrugged, following his gaze up to the gold crown molding and chandelier.

“Really? I thought you did this all the time.” Peter assumed.

“No, I don’t make it a habit of jumping into tubs with strange men.” You joked.

“That’s not what I meant, and I’m not a strange man, I’m your boyfriend.” He teased as he pulled you towards him. You chuckled and placed your lips onto his quickly before pulling away.

“Say it again.” You smiled. He furrowed his brows for a moment before smiling.

“I’m... your... boyfriend.” He said slowly, placing a kiss on either cheek between words, his lips landing on yours after his last word.

He now had his arms around your waist, pulling you close as your lips collided. When you broke apart for air, he looked down at the necklace around your neck and smiled.

“This is a dream right? I’m dreaming.” Peter shook his head with a goofy grin, not being able to believe his eyes.

“Does this feel like a dream?” You asked, taking both of his hands and placing them onto your breasts. He responded by crashing his lips onto yours, he groaned against your mouth as he pulled you closer.

“It’s nice to know you dream about me Parker.” You quipped with a smirk as you broke apart for air. He chuckled at your cockiness.

“All the time, baby.” He replied, and the pet name rolled off his tongue before he even realized what he said. God you almost melted at the sound. It was your turn to crash your lips against his and let out a moan as his hand traveled down to squeeze your ass.

A knock at the door pulled you both apart as you stared at each other with wide eyes.

“Room service!” A voice called, causing you both to let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding in.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

The two of you sat at the dining table, both in your white fluffy robes with nearly dripping wet hair.

“God this is so good.” Peter said, stuffing his mouth.

“Mm, I know, I didn’t realize I was this hungry.” You said, doing the same. Who knew fancy hotels made burgers and fries this good.

You picked up a fry from your plate, waving it at Peter.

“Ready? Catch.” You said as you threw it across the table as Peter caught it in his mouth.

“Ok your turn,” Peter said, tossing one of his. You leaned to the side, nearly missing it, but catching it in your mouth. You thrust your fists in the air in celebration, causing Peter to chuckle.

The two of you ate and talked, before cleaning up.

“Ugh, I’m so full.” You groaned, falling back onto the bed, rubbing your full stomach, causing Peter to laugh.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Peter asked.

“Oo yeah, we should probably get out of these robes though.” You said, moving from the bed, not wanting to get it all wet.

“Here,” Peter said, moving to his duffle bag and tossing you one of his t-shirts. You slipped it on as he slipped on some boxers and hung up your robes. You glanced down at the Midtown Tech logo and smiled. The fabric fell down to the middle of your thigh.

“I like seeing you in my clothes.” Peter smiled as he approached you sitting on the edge of the bed and pulled you into a chaste kiss.

“Cafeul, soon all your sweatshirts are gonna go missing.” You said, making him laugh.

Peter sat with his back against the headboard, and motioned you over to him. You crawled across the bed and laid into his side as he wrapped an arm around your waist, keeping you close. He held the remote in his other hand, scrolling through options on the large screen.

“Have you seen this?” Peter motioned towards the screen.

“That’s my favorite movie.” You chuckled, smiling up at him as he immediately pressed start.

Peter absentmindedly played with your hair as the movie went on. As the credits rolled a few hours later you leaned up to face Peter.

“Thank you for today. As birthdays go, I gotta say this may be my best yet.” You spoke genuinely.

“Well it’s not over yet.” He stated after glancing at the clock on the bedside table.

“It’s not?” You smirk, as he pulls you closer.

“I think we were interrupted earlier.” He said slowly, a blush returning to your cheeks as you remembered the events that took place, or almost took place in the bathtub a few hours earlier.

“I think you’re right.” You whispered back, as you climbed onto his lap as his lips intertwined with yours.

You’ve kissed him before, that wasn’t new, but this time something was different. There was a hunger you couldn’t quite describe. His hands began to roam your body, trying to take in every inch of you. A strong arm wrapped around your waist, lifted you, and laid you down onto the bed as Peter now hovered over you.

You gasped at the sudden movement before smiling as Peter lowered his lips to yours once more.

“Y/N,” He said, making you stop and open your eyes, worriedly. Was he ok? Was this too much?

“I’ve never...” He began, nervously.

“That’s ok Peter, we don’t have to-” You tried to reassure him, but he shook his head.

“I want to, God I want to. I want to make you feel good.” He said, his hand traveling up your shirt and resting on your waist.

“Are you sure?” You asked, not wanting to push him into something he wasn’t ready for.

He nodded, muttering a yes as he brought his lips down to you once more, before pulling away.

“Are you?” He asked, making sure this wasn’t one sided.

“Absolutely.” You smiled, taking in the sight of him above you, reaching up to gently move a curl that was falling onto his face, brushing his hair back with your fingers.

And for the first time in your life, you realized why it was called ‘making love’. As much as the phrase made you cringe. As much as you hated when people said that, that was the only way you could think to describe what you and Peter just did. It was sweet but passionate. Peter was gentle yet ruthless in all the right ways. You figured it out together, through the giggles and moans. And as first times go, it was perfect.

For one night you got to be kids. Of course you were adults, just barely. But the two of you had more weight on your shoulders than most adults would ever have. You had responsibilities, that the safety of the city and the world depended on. But for one night, you got to be normal, you got to be kids. For one night you were free, and you cherished it, because neither of you knew how long it would last.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!

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ayma-nidiot · 4 years ago

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“Don’t Speak Their Names” - Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 30

This chapter can be found here on AO3.

Author’s note: Yay! I finally uploaded a new chapter! Sorry for the wait, guys. Now get ready for lots of Symbioshipping. Hehehe.

Chapter 30 - Third-Place Man

~17 December 2005~

“N-No! Have mercy!” A Protector with Eyes of Blue kicked frantically while Weevil held him by the neck with his right arms. It was just his luck to get cornered in the empty baseball field in the furthest end of the university - and right before his teammates were set to arrive, no less.

“Apparently, you don’t know who we are, so let me tell you.” Weevil held his sharpened left arms to his victim’s chest. “We are the almighty Earthbound Gods, and we don’t know trivial concepts like ‘mercy’ - especially not for little gnats like you. If you’re not going to join the Earthbound Army, then you’ll join your comrades in hell!”

“Do you really think that killing me is going to solve anything?” Protector with Eyes of Blue felt his breath running out. “Even if you kill me, the God-Shattering Star and Rex will join forces… they will kill all the other Earthbound Gods... and they will destroy you and the Crimson Devil.”

“How DARE you speak his name! Begone!” Weevil impaled his victim, allowing him to fall to the ground in flames. But no sooner had he done so when he could feel the darkness - even just a sliver of it - leaving his heart. “R-Rex… I’m… I’m going to… ngh…”

“Uru!” Anita growled as she tried to shake Weevil back into his trance. “Pull yourself together, man!”

“Aslla… Piscu… It hurts…” Weevil grunted, feeling a headache coming on, as his eyes flashed between demonic red and his normal blue.

Dammit… So, part of Uru is still in love with Rex. I can’t allow him to fall in love with him again. And Watda will have my head if he finds out I let this happen to him. Even the tiniest fault could hamper our plans for world domination. Anita gave up trying to ‘save’ Weevil on her own, but knew of someone who could. “You can’t go to the doctor, nor can you go to most of your classes… at least, not in person. These days, you’ll never know who’s on the side of the Gaming Club.”

“Yes, I’m fully aware of that. Ever since Watda took me under his wing, I’ve done all my assignments and classes virtually. And so have the rest of us! Any other wisdom nuggets you’d like to share?”

“No, but there’s a teacher I know that’s full of… er, what you might call ‘wisdom nuggets.’ He’s one of the few people on this campus that doesn’t know our true identities. He’s actually our biology professor, and his office isn’t far from here. That fool…” Anita snarled at the spot where Protector with Eyes of Blue had burst into flames, “His teammates aren’t set to arrive for another 20 minutes. We should leave before we’re spotted.”

“Do you mean Dr. Heywood Jablomie?” Anita’s suggestion calmed Weevil down a little bit, and he proceeded to walk with her to this office. “I get the feeling that I’m his favourite student. He’s always inviting me to biology symposiums or calling me whenever he finds a rare insect.”

Anita opened the door to the fairly deserted hallway; the few people that were there were part of the Earthbound Army. “So you’ve noticed. I would say that if you wanted to be a biology professor or entomologist, that he’d be the professor you’d want supporting you through your thesis defense. But there’s going to be little point in doing that once we’ve completed our goal.”

“Our goal, huh…” Weevil stared absentmindedly at the door he found himself in front of.

“Excuse me? Dr. Jablomie, are you here today?” Anita knocked on the door.

“Hmm?” Rattling of office supplies could be heard on the other side before a scruffy man answered, inviting the pair further into the room. “Oh! Well, if it isn’t my two favourite students! What can I do for you today?”

It didn’t take long for the scheming Weevil to think of an appropriate answer. “I’d just like to review my grades and career outlook with you. I know it’s a bit soon, but I’d like to start on my senior thesis soon.”

“Ever the ambitious student, eh? I think we all know that you’d have no problem in our teaching program, but let’s take a look at your grades anyway.” Dr. Jablomie pulled up some information on his computer. “Yup, just as I suspected - all A’s for this semester. We normally don’t allow freshmen into this program, but I can make an exception for you.”

“Is that so?”

“Definitely. I’ll send you a few emails in regards to the program; feel free to read it at your leisure. ...And if you keep up these grades, you’ll have no problem being valedictorian.”

“I… I can?” That last word from Dr. Jablomie flooded Weevil’s mind with memories of his father, memories he kept squirreled away for several months. Then… I can finally reclaim what that stupid girl Amber took away from me.

Anita noticed that Weevil was now under Watda’s complete control again. She and Weevil arose from their seats. “Anyway, that’s all we needed, Professor. We’ll take our leave now.”

“We will?” Weevil seemed slightly confused.

“Yes, because President Watda is going to need our attention.” So Anita said, but in the back of her mind, she wasn’t wholly convinced that Weevil was really back on her side. Sorry, Uru, but our president is going to need to do something a little… drastic to make sure you stay with your own kind.

Meanwhile, Rex had only woken up in his hospital room about an hour ago. For the past two weeks, Dr. Balls had convinced him to stay there, knowing that he could go into labour any day now. He didn’t appreciate being woken up this soon before his last final exam, especially for something as uninteresting as an ‘emergency meeting.’ If it wasn’t for Amber shaking him awake and threatening to hide his Tyrant Dragon ‘for safekeeping,’ he would have been perfectly fine with sleeping the whole day without a care in the world.

“Ugh, making a pregnant person wake up for this… ” Rex groaned and yawned, wondering when the hell Phuckdis and William were going to start the meeting. “It had better be good. Nah, I know it won’t.”

“Come on, Papa, they said it was important.” Amber noticed that despite the Club Army’s recent losses, the size of the army hardly seemed to have shrunk. “See? President Phuckdis is about to start talking. And you better not fall asleep.”

“Nag, nag…” Rex rolled his eyes.

“My fellow Club members!” Phuckdis’ words silenced the growing crowd. “And for our newest members, we welcome and thank you for your presence. As you know, today is the last day of final exams. After today, all of the teachers and most powerful shifters in this university will go home. The Earthbound Army will have no qualms, then, about attacking the university when it’s at its most vulnerable.Those who live in on-campus housing - mostly Club members - will be especially at risk.”

“But we’ve only killed one Earthbound God, and turned another,” piped up Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North. “How do you expect us to kill six Earthbound Gods in the course of a day?”

“...” William looked to the ground in sorrow. “Sadly, we can’t. However, we have recently learned that two of the Earthbound Gods - Ccapac Apu and Chacu Challhua - live on on-campus housing. The two Club members tasked with spying on them have recently learned they take naps at the same time every day, in about four hours. At that time, the two Club members will infiltrate the dorm and kill them in their sleep while they’re not shifted.”

“That’s… sounds risky…” Amber didn’t wholeheartedly agree with this plan. “And if they happen to shift during this infiltration, we risk not only our spies’ lives, but also those of innocent students.”

“Well, I for one like it!” Rex got up and pumped a fist in the air. Everyone in that room could hear his ‘battle cry,’ even though he was in the back of the room. “I wish that I could be the one to give those punks a piece of their minds!”

“Not even an advanced pregnancy can stop your strong will, huh?” Phuckdis chuckled. “In that case, the emergency meeting is adjourned.”

“Now, then… I’m finished with all my finals, but you still have yours for Grandpa’s class.” Amber helped Rex on their way to class. “You did study, right?”

“Um…” Rex sheepishly looked into the lecture hall for ancient history. “Say, do you think Dad will give me a free pass because I’m pregnant?”

“So the answer is no.” Amber sighed and facepalmed, guiding Rex into a backrow seat. “Sometimes, you’re really hopeless, Papa.”

“Just sometimes? ” Rex smiled a goofy, toothy grin.

“Remind me again who’s the mother and who’s the child?” Amber sounded irritated for a spell before sparing a smile for Rex. “Anyway, Papa, good luck. I love you lots.”

“I love you too! Mwah!” Rex kissed Amber’s cheek before she left, taking all of his motivation for school with her. This whole finals schedule reminded him all too well of his high school finals, making him fear his test results even more. “And to think, I have to endure this for three more years…I could do without having to sit through a three-hour test. Or really any test, for that matter.”

“You really don’t like tests, do you?” Espa spoke from the adjacent seat.

“And who would? I’ve always stunk at them.” Rex held even tighter onto his baby bump; he had felt baby Amber squirming all morning. “On top of a war and the fact that my due date is in less than two weeks, I would rather be pretty much anywhere other than here. I’ve got enough to worry about as it is.”

“Your due date is that soon, huh…”

Espa curled up a little, but Rex could still notice that the psychic duelist was quite chubbier than he remembered. “Espa… Remind me again how far along you are?”

“...” Espa let his arms fall to his sides, revealing his basketball-sized baby bump. “I’m 20 weeks along.”

“But your bump is really big for 20 weeks, isn’t it?”

“Did you forget already that I’m carrying twins, genius?”

“Espa…” Rex held Espa’s trembling hand. “Have you ever seen the on-campus doctor, Dr. Mayichi Balls?”

“Pfft…” Espa’s nervousness eased a little upon hearing that name. “No, I haven’t.”

“He’s this really awesome doctor that taught me everything I needed to know about my pregnancy, and I think he can help you too. After this final, why don’t I take you there?”

“You’d be willing to do that for me? Even after all that I’ve done to you at Battle City?”

“Come on, we can still be rivals and friends. That’s what Joey and I are.”

“Joey, too?”

“Er, well, he says I’m his friend, but I still don’t think that word sounds right when it applies to us.”

“I…” Espa started crying. “I… I… Thank you, Rex. I take back what I said about you being ‘the worst duelist in Domino City.’”

“I’ll forgive you if you can do two things. One, duel me fair and square. Two, cut the crying because the professor is already here.”

“S-Sorry…” Try as he might, Espa couldn’t control his crying very well. “I’ve been having these awful mood swings for the past couple of months, and… well, you should know how that works. Once I start crying, it’s almost impossible for me to stop.”

“Oh, do I know about the mood swings. But you’ve graduated in the top five at Domino High School, so you’re gonna be fine on this test.”

“Th-Thanks…” Espa’s voice still shook as he and Rex received their testing papers.

At least you shouldn’t have a problem with your finals… Weeves probably has it easy too. Rex was certain he bombed his algebra final, but understood the material for this test just fine. Even when he was down to the last ten questions, he didn’t encounter a single question he didn’t specifically remember from class.

To Espa’s - and everyone else’s - surprise, Rex was the first one done with the test. “Whoa, the airhead Rex Raptor already finished?” one of Rex’s old classmates from high school wondered out loud.

“Naw, he probably just rushed through it so he could be done,” quipped another former classmate. “He probably didn’t get a single question right.”

“No talking during the exam, unless you want both of your tests to be invalidated,” Spinos spoke all the way from his podium; he only looked up when Rex presented his finished test. “Good job. But just because you’re my son doesn’t mean that I won’t grade you like all of my other students.”

“Hehe, I know.” Rex flipped his hair. “I don’t need special treatment from daddy dear; I’m that awesome!”

“Still full of yourself as always,” Espa spoke from behind as he handed in his test too. “Let’s see if you’re still ‘that awesome’ after report cards come out, eh?”

“Oh, shut it. That is, if you want me to escort you to the-”

Abrupt contractions hit Rex; though they weren’t as strong as last time, they were enough to raise Spinos’ concern. “Oh, shit…” he turned to one of his trustworthy student assistants. “You and the others are going to continue proctoring this test. My son might be going into early labour.”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

“N-No…” Rex refused Spinos’ offer to help him walk. “I can get there myself. You stay here and do your job as a teacher.”

“I got this, Dr. Saurus.” Espa tried to wrap an arm around Rex, only to have the dino duelist swat him away.

“Headstrong and stubborn as usual…” Spinos sat back at the podium. “Very well, if you insist.”

Espa, however, wasn’t wholly comfortable letting someone who could barely breathe or walk take him to the doctor’s. “I bet that if you were bleeding all over the floor, you’d probably be all like, ‘I can do it myself.’ I hope I can be a strong, determined mother like you.”

“And I hope you don’t.” Dr. Balls happened to be walking down the same corridor. “Rex isn’t exactly a role model you should follow.”

“Oh come on, I’m doing the best I can, Doc. Anyway, we didn’t come here just to chat it up. This is my buddy Espa Roba, and he really needs your expertise, if you know what I mean.”

“H-Hey.” Espa nervously waved.

Dr. Balls instinctively could tell that Espa wasn’t a shifter, but had the presence of mind not to ask about his gender identity. “How do you do? I’m Dr. Mayichi Balls.”

“Pfft… Hahaha!” Espa soon found himself in a nearly unstoppable bout of laughter. “Man, no matter how many times I hear that name, it never gets old!”

“Hehe… I’m used to it by this point. If you’re here for an ultrasound, then you’ve come to the right place. Right this way.”

“Actually, Dr. Balls, he’s not your only patient today,” Rex spoke as the three walked to Dr. Balls’ office. “I… I think Amber’s going to come out any day now.”

Dr. Balls offered the two men separate hospital beds. He prepared the ultrasound for Espa while his nurses tended to Rex. “And you would be correct in that assumption. In fact, don’t be surprised if you go into true labour next week.”

“But I want to give birth on my due date,” Rex whined. “Because, you know, it’s my birthday.”

“Then you need to listen to your doctor and take it easy, unless you want your Braxton Hicks contractions to become the real deal beforehand.” Dr. Balls turned to Espa with a kinder tone. “Your babies look healthy to me… Do you want to know their sex?”

“Yes, please, if you don’t mind.”

“You’re going to have a boy and a girl.”

“Darn, I didn’t think of any boy’s names… Although I know for sure I want my daughter to be named Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt and childbirth. Still...” Espa cradled his baby bump. “I’m going to love my boy all the same, just like my brothers.”

“How fitting.” Rex smiled. “I hope I can get some of that good juju from you.”

“Haha… I just need to discuss with Mako on what we should name our son. But…”

“But what?”

“I… still haven’t told him how I feel.”

“Oh my gods, Espa, are you serious right now? And how many months has it been? Why the hell haven’t you?”

“Well, I can’t be bold and brash like you. It was just a one-night stand for both of us…” Espa began what he knew would be a long fit of crying as Dr. Balls finished the checkups. “I don’t think he really loves me.”

“Er, well…” Rex hesitated for a bit; as the product of a one-night stand himself, Espa’s words caught him off guard, and he had no idea what to say.

And he wouldn’t have to, because yet again he heard loud stomping rapidly charging up the stairs.

“Why do I have to deal with people running in the hospital all the time?” Dr. Balls sighed angrily. “Cut it out, you- Hey, where do you think you’re going?”

“Hey, is Espa Roba here?” shouted a voice from the far end of the corridor.

“Who wants to know?” Dr. Balls peered out from his office to look at this intruder.

“The fish duelist, third-place in regionals Mako Tsunami wants to know!”

“What’s going on?” Espa didn’t quite hear the commotion - and as soon as took a look outside, he wished he had. “Shit!”

“Espa! I knew I would find you here!”

As soon as Mako made his way for Dr. Balls office, Espa pushed Dr. Balls aside and shut the door. “I’m not at home!”

“What are you doing?” Rex got up, intending to open the door even though Espa blocked him from it. “This is the perfect time to tell him!”

“Tell me what?” Mako could still hear everything going on. “Please, Espa, there’s something I want to tell you!”

“You’re a gods-damned idiot for passing up a chance like this!”

“I’m not even anywhere near ready yet, Rex!” Espa spoke barely quietly enough for Mako to not hear.

Finally, Mako had enough of being ignored. “Espa, there are monsters outside!”

“What?” Dr. Balls got out his Gravity Axe - Grarl. “But they’ve never attacked the university!”

Rex gently pushed Espa out of the way and let Mako in the room. “Well, lead the way, third-place man.”

“Oh, I can assure you that my deck now isn’t third-place.” Mako revealed his activated Duel Disk as Espa hesitated to leave. “You can stay here - for your sake and the kids’ sake.”

“...” Espa retrieved his Duel Disk from his large handbag. “If Rex Raptor, who is farther along than me, is going, then I am too.”

“Are you sure you want to do this, Rex?” Dr. Balls asked as they ran outside.

“Most people don’t deliver on their due dates anyway, right?” Rex elected to use his Duel Disk instead of his shapeshifting powers for this fight - much to the relief of Amber, who had already started fighting.

“Papa!” Amber had just vanquished a powerful enemy.

“Less talk, more showing off how strong you are!” Rex wasted no time in summoning his Red-Eyes Slash Dragon and Serpent Night Dragon.

“Finally, something we can agree on.” Dr. Balls quickly changed into Guardian Grarl.

“I… uh, don’t know what’s going on, but I can help too!” Mako played his field spell A Legendary Ocean and summoned The Legendary Fisherman alongside White Aura Monoceros.

“Hmm?” Amber had never met Mako before. “Well, if it isn’t third-place man. Papa and Daddy have told me all about you. You’re a cool guy, I suppose.”

“Will you guys stop calling me that? I’m not a third-place man anymore! White Aura Monoceros, show them what I mean!”

“So… Uh, no Earthbound Gods yet, Amber?” Rex asked.

“Nope, nada. At least not here.” Heka answered for his girlfriend. “And if you’re wondering where Kaiba and Atem are, they’re fighting off two of them by themselves - Ccapac Apu and Chacu Challhua. With my adorable girlfriend’s armies, if I might add.”

“Haha! This will be a piece of cake, then!” Rex summoned Black Tyranno. “You know, maybe you’re a cool guy after all. My daughter’s one lucky girl.”

“Right?” Amber giggled as she shot an Archfiend Empress dead.

“Um…” Espa pointed to a blue giant coming their way. “I think our luck’s about to run out!”

“It… can’t be! That’s the Earthbound God Ccapac Apu!” Amber rose higher in the air. “Everyone, this foe is beyond any of you. Run!”

“You should know better than anyone that one does not simply walk away from a fight. Especially if his name is Rex Raptor! Slash Dragon, attack that ugly-ass beast!”

“Ha, ha, ha…” Nortius cackled as he fell the Red-Eyes Slash Dragon easily. “Do you really think that you can defeat me so easily, you damned rabbit?”

“I bet I can!” Amber twirled around Nortius, shooting an arrow that nicked the Earthbound God in the face.

“Huh, so this is the legendary daughter of Uru, eh?” Nortius began to fight Amber - at least for a short while. “Unlike your mother, you’re a worthy opponent, I’m sure.”

“I’ll make you eat your words, cur! Yaaah!”

“I-I can help too!” Espa stepped forward.

“On second thought…” Nortius shoved Amber to the ground, then diverted his attention to Espa. “I changed my mind. I think I’ll attack the weakest of you first.”

“H-How dare you?! Go! Jinzo, The Fiend Megacyber, and Reflect Bounder!”

“Hehehe…” Nortius attacked back, leaving only Jinzo standing on the field. “You’ve defeated the damned rabbit in a duel, right? If I can defeat you, then it really goes to show how weak he is.”

“You… bastard…” Amber couldn’t fly, as Nortius’ attack left her wings badly damaged. “Argh!”

“Espa…” Mako stood there, speechless, while his monsters all perished trying to defeat Nortius’ lackeys.

“Mako…” Espa knew that even Jinzo couldn’t stand up to an Earthbound God. “Heh. It’s funny. Even though I’m about to die, I still… can’t say it…”

“No…” Mako felt a burst of energy coming from his heart. “I… No, you fiend! I won’t let you!”

“Any last words, you weak, fake psychic? Oh, that’s right, you’re too chicken to have any!”

Espa didn’t bother to resist, as Nortius already destroyed Jinzo. “I… I just wish… that I could have… Huh?”

“I’m not going to let them hurt you…” Mako, along with his new spear and the orca he rode on, glowed white.

“Well, I’ll be.” Rex snickered. “Mako’s a shapeshifter just like Weeves and I.”

“Say, Espa… Can I borrow Jinzo for a second?”

“Yeah, go ahead!” Espa fumbled through his Graveyard to find his ace monster.

“Idiot, if a monster like Jinzo couldn’t defeat me once, what makes you think it can defeat me now?” Nortius taunted.

“Yugi and Joey have taught me about a little something called ‘friendship,’” Mako replied as he retrieved a Polymerization out of his deck and played it. “I’d ask you to learn about it, but I’m about to give you a first-hand lesson.”

“You fool! You can’t stand up to the third-strongest of the Earthbound Gods!” Even when Nortius reached out for Mako, ready to crush him, a barrier of light repelled his arm.

“Ha!” The light scattered, revealing Mako to be an iron-clad warrior riding an even larger orca. “I’m pretty sure I can! Take… this!”

“What?!” Before Nortius could react, Mako had impaled him in the chest. “How… How could a… weak shifter like you… defeat an Earthbound God…”

“Dude, that was kick-ass!” Now that the enemies were gone, Rex deactivated his Duel Disk and ran up to Mako.

“Because I’m a proud warrior of the seas!” Mako shifted back into a human, but as soon as he did, he began to stumble backwards.

“Hey, I got you!” Espa caught Mako, but the two still fell to the ground.

“I’m…” Mako breathed shallowly as he looked at the sky. “Dad… I hope I’ve made you proud.”

“I’m sure you did, Mako…” Espa held Mako’s head and stroked his face. “I’m sure you did… But… I was so scared that you were going to join him… Why, oh why did you risk your life for a ‘fake psychic’ like me?”

“I know we haven’t known each other for more than a couple of years, but… Ever since our duel a year ago, I… Your dedication to your brothers… It reminds me of my relationship with my father. We really are more alike than you think.” Mako held Espa even tighter, stroking the psychic duelist’s baby bump. “I… I just wanted to protect the mother of my babies… and the man I love.”

Espa gasped as he stared at Mako wide-eyed. “What did you just say?”

“Didn’t you hear me the first time?” Mako chuckled. “I love you, you adorable freaking psychic!”

“Oh my gods…” Espa cried.

“Do… Do you not love me, too?” Mako frowned.

“Y-Yes, I do!” Espa frantically started kissing Mako all over his face. “I do, Mako! I absolutely love you!”

“Daaaaaaaaaw!” Amber would have jumped excitedly if she wasn’t injured.

“About damned time!” Rex rubbed the space under his nose.

“You said it, Rex.” Joey gave Mako and Espa a thumbs up. “Congrats, guys. Two great duelists deserve nothing but the best.”

“I’m honoured that you acknowledge my skill!” Mako exclaimed.

“There’s just one problem, love…” Espa held Mako’s hand over his baby bump. “I just learned that we’re going to have a daughter and a son. But I have no idea what our son’s name should be.”

“Hmm… I like the name ‘Caesar.’ I’m not quite sure why, but… it sounds regal.”

“Ooh, I like it! It complements ‘Artemis’ well.”

“Artemis?”

“That’s gonna be our daughter’s name.”

“Oh, you.” Mako cuddled with Espa harder, giving him multiple cheek kisses.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Kaiba cut in, with Atem behind him.

“Papa! Good gods, you’re injured!” Heka started to heal Kaiba, until the former KaibaCorp CEO stopped him.

“I’m going to be fine, son.”

“And… And Chacu Challhua?” Amber asked.

“That overgrown whale was no match for the Seto Kaiba.” Kaiba smirked. “I see you’ve killed the other Earthbound God… Well done, you dweebs.”

“You… You really are the God-Shattering Star, if an Earthbound God was but a weakling to you.” Amber remarked.

“Nice to see you again, Mako.” Atem recognized his friend and rival, even if Mako didn’t recognize him - except by his Millennium Puzzle.

“Yugi?” Mako looked confused, especially when he saw Yugi stand right next to Atem. “No, save it for now. After this war, we’ll have plenty of time to catch up… maybe through duels, haha.”

“So that just leaves only four Earthbound Gods remaining…” Amber spoke as she, along with her injured soldiers, made way for the campus hospital. “Papa, it’s only a matter of time before we have to do battle with them. Don’t be surprised if we end up having to fight Daddy.”

“I pray that that’s not going to happen…” Rex trembled. “That Watda is going to pay for making a fool out of Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood.”

#yugioh #ygo #shrimpshipping #symbioshipping #mpreg #violence #death

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midnightshowing-acm420-fall2019 · 5 years ago

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Week 16 - Alex - Dénouement

--- Opening Thoughts:

Here we reach the end of the story of this project; the final knot, which took so many threads to tie, yet seemed not long ago to be little more than a tangled mess. This week, our group achieved more than what seemed achievable, given the time constrains and pressure. And although so much could have gone wrong, this was truly a very ‘right’ conclusion to an epic semester-long project. I’m so very, very thankful, and proud, of each and every member of our our group - without whom this film would never have been possible. And I’m honored to have been a part of what may very well be one of the finest films produced here in ACM Animation since its inception. I also would like to give a huge thanks to all the colorists who made the production pipeline go so much smoother and faster - sacrificing their own time and effort to be a part of something amazing! I also would like congratulate our terrific voice actor Justin Bendo, for his incredible work as the voice of Angel. And to our composer Joshua Namba, who breathed life and vigor into our film through his music.

--- Weekly Deliverables

For my work this past week, a lot has happened, as most of our group can probably agree to. It’s difficult to bring to memory every individual thing, but the core tasks were these: Coloring Sq13s6, a shot I originally roughed for. Although the final version would go on to have some major alterations to Angel, I’m happy to see it least one rough of Phantom I did pretty much stuck all the way to final:

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Colored Sq13s16; took a heck of a long time even using pre-programmed inputs for the coloring process. But it turned out good, and due to me needing to use base layers for the characters, Gavin came up with an interesting blending mode for the Old Man which we can see in the final film:

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For the next two shots I finished line from last week, plus color and shading for this week. They turned out pretty good I’d say:

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We ran into some technical issues when it came to rendering out certain files, and one in particular that comes to mind is Sq9s16, as imaged below.

I don’t know how it was possible to even work on a file this large on Photoshop, with the hardware we have. It was so big that most of our group’s computers couldn’t even open it. Mine struggled big time to load it, let alone render it as an uncompressed .mov. I had to clear almost all my ram, and even then it crashed before finally managing to render it, which only took around 10 minutes (for one shot mind you,) and then uploading it which took a solid three and a half hours.

This one file almost stopped our whole production. It was amazing, kind of hilarious, and a bit scary, but we managed to pull through. I added a clipping mask to the fire’s lineart to make it orange.

The next thing which ate up a lot of time and energy this week was sound. Basically, I expected have sound done in maybe 5 or 6 hours over the weekend. Turned out it required almost two full days to finalize. Me and Gavin met up to discuss corrections and adjustments, and after some last minute feedback, all the retiming work was done, and we got an incredible audio track. Even though it was a heavy tax on my very tight finals week schedule, I think having those two days to work on it really raised the fluidity and creativity to provide something almost of a remaster to the animatic audio track we’ve been using up to this point. The premiere file itself is kind of a convoluted mess:

Nevertheless, it gets the job done, and taught me a whole lot about sound editing and design over the course of the semester (except organizational skills.)

--- Last Reflections

This semester has been such a momentous one for so many reasons. If 320 taught me “how to work on animation,” then 420 taught me how to work on animation for real. The jump is so tangible, not necessarily in a “workload” sense (although that may be part of it) but more so as an appreciation for the art of animation itself as a collaborative medium, and a visually exploratory one. I am much more aware now of every element that goes into a piece of work, and I think I can see the great value in attempting to discerning the purpose behind everything we see in Animation, as with any art piece. While it was easy to get away with seemingly arbitrary choices of shape, color, motion and such in the past, it has become especially necessary now to be deliberate in making choice, since the workload falls on someone else’s shoulders.

- Adjustments to the Process in the Future:

Not all of this is necessarily in my control, nor should this be held against anyone or any part of the film making process here, since after all we’re learning and exploring how to work in teams with new techniques. That being said, one thing I would aim to sharpen in the future is the pre-production estimates of workload times/levels, as well as the overall film length. I think I speak for most of us when I say that the film’s scope grew a lot over the course of the semester. And I’m not saying having a large or ambitious idea is bad - that’s my favorite kind of project! But it can become a bit of an issue when it grows to such a scope that we are having to recruit outside helpers and dedicate most or all of the 24 hours we have in a day to be able to manage finishing on time. Basically, just have a more rigid plan from the start, and be very cautious towards anything that adds unnecessary levels of complexity. That’s something that can be addressed at the animatic stage. Beyond that, being more cautious with the estimates of time and energy requirements per shot would help. I noticed that some (or maybe most) of the shots required quite a bit more time than originally intended to be roughed, lined, colored, and shaded. That’s not taking into consideration all the revisions they may go through as they are reviewed, given feedback, and trade hands between group members. Production schedule-wise, it’s much better to undershoot I think, and have a lot of extra time to hammer out details, maybe refine shots, and properly apply feedback versus feeling the dread of being behind schedule and cutting years from your life due to the amount of sleep lost to try and catch up. A general rule of thumb is that specificity helps. Despite how meticulously we planned, we would still occasionally run into issues such as what color a prop might be, or how the shading might change between environments. Or another example might be how a character’s physical attributes such as stretchiness might change or remain consistent throughout the film. Although these were minor things that got addressed in the end, baring those details in mind in the future would be of great help I think.

- Words of Advice to Future 420 Students

You have three options: either become a cyborg, learn to hate sleep, or adapt to being powered by copious amounts of coffee every day. As for me, I took something from all three of those this semester. Joking aside, these are some general pointers I would give to incoming 420 students: -Choose your story and teammates carefully: This semester can be as fun (or unfun) as you make it to be. No matter what though, the people you have at your side are the people you’re stuck with. Hopefully by this point in the major you would be familiar with your teammates and their individual strengths and quirks, so if you’re having trouble picking a team in the beginning, go with the people you feel are the most self-determined, hard working, and whom you can adapt to their mold (not necessarily vice versa.) If you hate your team, you will hate your semester. But if you love your team, it doesn’t matter how tough the work gets, because you can still come to class with a smile (a very dead inside smile.)

-Come in with a strong concept: Even if your idea doesn’t get picked, being able to receive other people’s ideas and represent them faithfully is vital to the overall success of the production. The better you understand the idea you are working on, the better prepared you will be to make it a reality. Also, simple designs and ideas tend to get picked more often. Keep that in mind when developing your idea.

-Diversity is a strength: Having a broad skillset on your crew is incredibly important. Ideally, everyone can functionally perform any given task on the production. But having specialists assigned certain specific tasks is very helpful. It serves to balance the workload more or less equally among members based on their strengths, and the result is a product where you have good work reflected in all aspects of the film.

-Be prepared to change your schedule: Unless your group’s idea is ridiculously simple, chances are you will be losing sleep, possible questioning your choice of major, and being forced to change both when and how you are available to people and things you care about in the world outside the borders of your computer screen. It is not a joke to say that this course can affect your health, your diet, and maybe even the way you view other people - or even yourself! If done properly, this class should challenge you in the way you live and handle work. It should force you to adapt to an animator’s lifestyle. Not that you need to forsake life to be an animator necessarily, but to give you a taste of what the industry may demand of you through certain seasons of life.

-Be able to take a joke: By the end of the project, you’re going to be throwing shots at each other left and right. It is a crazy, whacky time - and you may find yourself forgetting this is all for a school project. Learn to enjoy acknowledging your own weaknesses, and have fun pointing out the flaws in others, when its appropriate. This makes the experience not only more enjoyable, but in a strange, ironic way it makes us become comfortable with our shortcomings, and enables/pushes each other to genuinely improve our skills, and ultimately create a better product.

-Communication is key: You need to keep up with your group. Period. If you are our of the loop for even a day, it can throw things off big time. Setup a chat group via text, setup a Discord server, or find some other means to talk to one another that is reliable. Even if you don’t always feel like chatting, just be ready when somebody needs you (which will happen quite a lot.) Also, having a system of file sharing such as Google Drive is indispensable. You may find yourself keeping certain tabs open and rarely closing them, just to check for updates and be able to send/receive files when you need them.

-Practice makes perfect: I don’t care how good or bad you think you are at animating up till this point; if you do your best in this class, you will grow. You may find yourself drawing in a different art style than you’re used to, and implementing work methods and software that you’ve never used before. And that’s wonderful! Be open to experimenting and exploring new styles of work. I’ve found that is a big part of what makes animation enjoyable and inexhaustible. Just when you feel like you’re set in your ways, the moment you step into something new, it’s a whole other world, and you just might find something you like about it.That opens the door to not only other ways of being creative, but on a practical level, makes you a much more viable component to a team when being considered for hiring. Don’t let the early hardships bog you down; with time and practice, there’s nothing you can’t do. -- Well that pretty much wraps up this last blog post and the semester for 420. The experience has been life altering, no joke. I have no regrets, and I’m so thankful to have had the chance to work so closely with everyone. In my experience, this class has been the difference between being an animation student and becoming a professional animator. Even though it was as a real challenge emotionally and physically, I would take the class again if I could, and I very much look forward to working with you all - my fellow animators - in our continuing classes, as well as our careers beyond. You all have been my family here while I’ve been without one since moving all the way out here for school.

Thanks to Brittany for teaching our wonderful class! And to everyone who has fought through this semester together and made it something special, right up until the very end. Until next time my friends, this is the Undercover Animator signing out.

#midnightshowing #acm420 #theend #coffeepower #i cry every time

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